A few months ago I saw a U-tube video by an anti Semite who spoke of a Kosher tax. It was from one of these extremist neo-Nazi types. The speaker in this video goes about ‘explaining’ the meaning of all those kosher symbols seen on various products and that these symbols are paid for by the food manufacturers and then passed off to the consumer in the form of an increase in the price of the product. And what did the consumer get for that extra fee? A blessing over the food from a rabbi!
I remember being rather amused by this stupid video, firstly because of its inaccuracies and distortions. But also because of his presentation. It was so buffoonish it reminded me of the Mel Brooks comedy, ‘The Producers’. He was a virtual parody of himself. But it wasn't intentional. That neo-Nazi with a swastika in the background was so smug and sure of himself.
There was a time where such videos were a source of worry to me. You never know who is watching or how they will be influenced. And on the surface what he said kind of made sense despite the fact that it wasn’t true. Hechsher organizations like the OU are multi million dollar corporations. That money comes from the fees paid for their supervisions. It makes sense to say that increased cost to these major food corporations are passed off to the consumer.
And what were they buying? A blessing from a rabbi?! To people who have little or no contact with Jews or understanding about what kosher means, it isn’t all that difficult to sell them this 'bill of goods'. But I still wasn’t worried in the slightest and basically just laughed the whole thing off although it did make me a little angry that it exists even at the fringe level.
How could I do that… you ask? Isn’t there a thousand year history of anti-Semitism that has resulted in many massacres, forced conversions and ultimately the holocaust?! Shouldn’t I be concerned about even a fringe Neo-Nazi like this? Isn’t possible that he can convince a few people… who will then convince a few more and before you know it we will be well on our way down a slippery slope to another holocaust? I don’t think so. Not by a long shot.
First because of the reasons I have written about recently. Christianity has done a 180 with respect to the Judaism. But also because of things like the popularity of kosher food as described in a Y-Net article.
There is of course no kosher tax. The cost of a Hashgacha is so miniscule that it would be almost impossible to express it in terms of additional cost per item. That cost is far less that a penny. But even if there were an additional cost most people would gladly pay it!
What’s more important is that if there is a misunderstanding about kosher supervision, it is in the direction of giving it too much credence. Many people who look for a kosher symbol think it is an extra layer of protection beyond that of the FDA. With mad cow disease and ecoli bacteria food contamination that one hears about in the media of late, people are looking for better food supervision. They do not understand that kosher supervision is not necessarily about protecting the food supply against contamination from ecoli bacteria. As the article points out the supervision can entail something as simple as not mixing the meat utensils with milk utensils
The point is that a great number of people value Kosher food. And if one reads the article it seems to be mostly the politically liberal who seek it out more than the religious conservatives. Unless vegetarians and vegans are political conservatives... or Maddona …or Paris Hilton… or Bono. Kosher food is mostly purchased by non Jews. That is the majority of its market. The number one hot dog in America is Hebrew National. Not Oscar Mayer.
This phenomenon adds to my belief that the citizens of the United States do not have a anti-Semitic bone in their body (Yes there are exceptions, of course.) To support this contention, I often point to Vatican Two or the religious right. Or people like Pastor John Hagee. But choosing kosher food is a-political at best and if judged by the examples in this article it is the liberal elite who choose it the most.
Is there still anyone left in this country who thinks there is any significant even latent anti-Semitism in this country? Well if there is, I've got a news-flash for them: There isn’t. Yes… there are people out there trying to foment anti-Semitic feelings. But that just isn’t working.
I remember being rather amused by this stupid video, firstly because of its inaccuracies and distortions. But also because of his presentation. It was so buffoonish it reminded me of the Mel Brooks comedy, ‘The Producers’. He was a virtual parody of himself. But it wasn't intentional. That neo-Nazi with a swastika in the background was so smug and sure of himself.
There was a time where such videos were a source of worry to me. You never know who is watching or how they will be influenced. And on the surface what he said kind of made sense despite the fact that it wasn’t true. Hechsher organizations like the OU are multi million dollar corporations. That money comes from the fees paid for their supervisions. It makes sense to say that increased cost to these major food corporations are passed off to the consumer.
And what were they buying? A blessing from a rabbi?! To people who have little or no contact with Jews or understanding about what kosher means, it isn’t all that difficult to sell them this 'bill of goods'. But I still wasn’t worried in the slightest and basically just laughed the whole thing off although it did make me a little angry that it exists even at the fringe level.
How could I do that… you ask? Isn’t there a thousand year history of anti-Semitism that has resulted in many massacres, forced conversions and ultimately the holocaust?! Shouldn’t I be concerned about even a fringe Neo-Nazi like this? Isn’t possible that he can convince a few people… who will then convince a few more and before you know it we will be well on our way down a slippery slope to another holocaust? I don’t think so. Not by a long shot.
First because of the reasons I have written about recently. Christianity has done a 180 with respect to the Judaism. But also because of things like the popularity of kosher food as described in a Y-Net article.
There is of course no kosher tax. The cost of a Hashgacha is so miniscule that it would be almost impossible to express it in terms of additional cost per item. That cost is far less that a penny. But even if there were an additional cost most people would gladly pay it!
What’s more important is that if there is a misunderstanding about kosher supervision, it is in the direction of giving it too much credence. Many people who look for a kosher symbol think it is an extra layer of protection beyond that of the FDA. With mad cow disease and ecoli bacteria food contamination that one hears about in the media of late, people are looking for better food supervision. They do not understand that kosher supervision is not necessarily about protecting the food supply against contamination from ecoli bacteria. As the article points out the supervision can entail something as simple as not mixing the meat utensils with milk utensils
The point is that a great number of people value Kosher food. And if one reads the article it seems to be mostly the politically liberal who seek it out more than the religious conservatives. Unless vegetarians and vegans are political conservatives... or Maddona …or Paris Hilton… or Bono. Kosher food is mostly purchased by non Jews. That is the majority of its market. The number one hot dog in America is Hebrew National. Not Oscar Mayer.
This phenomenon adds to my belief that the citizens of the United States do not have a anti-Semitic bone in their body (Yes there are exceptions, of course.) To support this contention, I often point to Vatican Two or the religious right. Or people like Pastor John Hagee. But choosing kosher food is a-political at best and if judged by the examples in this article it is the liberal elite who choose it the most.
Is there still anyone left in this country who thinks there is any significant even latent anti-Semitism in this country? Well if there is, I've got a news-flash for them: There isn’t. Yes… there are people out there trying to foment anti-Semitic feelings. But that just isn’t working.
